9 days away

When you book a return flight to Australia that originates in Oslo

 This creates one minor detail - The need to get to Oslo to meet the departure. 

It's nice to have a problem such as this. Below is what I pieced together for a 9 day jaunt from Cairns to Norway and back using a business class fare on Qatar Airlines traveling on there B787 & A380 and using Avianca's LifeMiles to do the rest outside of Australia.

To start the journey was a last minute purchase 2 days out from departure. A Jetstar flight from Cairns to Narita. The most I have ever paid for this sector. What made it even worse was the price either side of the date I had to purchase was 1/2 the price. I have never ever paid this amount for Cairns Narita return.

Thats my last beef about highway robbery and price gouging by an airline and there were 50 plus seats empty on the plane. 
(I guess they had to get me one day for all the cheap flights I purchased to Japan previously)   

The itinerary and costing

23 Feb 2018  :  JQ25 Cairns - Narita  - Yconomy B787           AUD$719

24 Feb 2018  :  NH231 Narita - Brussels - Business B787      AUD$1489
                       (75,000 LifeMiles used - Value AUD$1425) 

26 Feb 2018   : SN2283 Brussels - Oslo - Business A319       AUD$386 
                        (8,500 LifeMiles used - Value AUD$161)

02 Mar 2018  : QR180 Oslo - Doha - Business B787               AUD$1743
                        R904 Doha - Melbourne - Business A380

04 Mar 2018 : VA1291 Melbourne - Cairns - Yconomy B737   AUD$238

The total cost was AUD$4575 
less the JQ & VA cost the international fare was $3618 
Now that's very very good & the in-flight product on both ANA and Qatar was brilliant.

A planned yet secret trip to Vancouver

33,750 Km's

Reasons?

There were several ... 

Surprise my parents at the end of there tour

Make use of Avianca LifeMiles

Fly ANA's 777 in 1st class Haneda to LA

Fly ANA's 787 business class


Achieved

The surprise was a winner

LifeMiles always allows me to travel in comfort!!!

ANA's 777 1st class - Sensational 

ANA's 787 : fantastic service and style

To see how I made this trip affordable 



As you will see if you push the button I had flights from Tokyo through to Vancouver and back to Sydney. To complete the journey I needed to get from Cairns to Japan and Sydney to Cairns. Jetstar had a special on - buy one way and get the return free - So I did, A$319 up to Narita in June and back in November. You know what that means, I now have to go to Japan late October to use the return flight Narita to Cairns. 

Already in the planning - Hong Kong Airlines have great fares Cairns to Hong Kong. I have a Ramen eating plan for 3 days in Hong Kong and then onto Kogashima. Ready to try the satsuma cuisine..!! and then make my way up to Tokyo for that Free flight home.

The flight from Sydney to Cairns was the 2nd half of a Free return flight I received as part of a deal with the American Express Velocity Platinum Card. 

Now onto ANA's 1st class experience. I had high expectations and they did not disappoint. From the moment I checked in my ever so small piece of checked luggage (5 days in Vancouver I didn't need much) it just got better. Up the escalators and you then enter the Suite Lounge, passed the mighty large Stainless Steel Doors.

 

    

As it was a late departure I headed for the Restaurant, ordered dinner, a glass of Champagne Collet was offered while I waited.

On Board and all the pre-departure preparation was in play. The funky / Sexy Samsonite amenities pack was handed to me and a glass of Krug... AH ... I am lovin this ....  

Moving right along - in flight - I'll let the pictures tell the story.. This can be a never ending story - All food was on request, so I happily managed to use my time wisely.   

A little over 10 hrs later 

A transit in LA for 2.5 hrs and then Air Canada flight to Vancouver business class on a A320, a 3 hour flight. As you have to collect your luggage and clear customs it's oh so nice to find that someone has collected your luggage off the carousel and has it waiting for you in LAX. 

Air Canada's flight from LAX to YVR  was a very average cramped 3 hours on what I call a short domestic Business class product. We arrived on time, exited the Airport and in a Taxi to my accommodation. The whole process was swift 

  

This seems to be one of my favorite miles collecting programs as they always are throwing deals around that add up......!!

More importantly I needed to top up the account after a little bit of miles usage.

Just booked the award components of a trip to Vancouver BC with 4 days on the ground

Tokyo - Los Angeles : ANA in first class on a  B777

Los Angeles - Vancouver : Air Canada in business on a A320 

Vancouver - Tokyo : ANA in business on a B787

Tokyo - Sydney : ANA in business on a B787

There most recent deal being transferring miles from one account to another at a rate of US$15 per 1,000 transferred, the receiver gets 2,000 - a bonus of 100%. Not to shabby given the USD - AUD exchange is crap at the moment. This is putting it at just above AUD$20 per 1,000, this takes into account what I purchased the original 1,000 for.

I also did a test of 3 different credit cards to see the value of the conversion + fees.

Transferring 10,000 miles per card  @ US$150.

The cards:

NAB (National Australia Bank) American Express - A$214.32

28 Degrees MasterCard - A$208.33

American Express - A$218.67

Once all cards have loaded the transaction and fees (if charged) I will update this page. As you may be aware when a transaction hits your account some institutions show a variation from the charge date to the settlement date. So far this has happened with 28 Degrees (to my benefit) this time. 

This is how the 3 cards converted US$150 including all fees. They all settled by 26 February 2016

  

YES : Again Avianca have an offer 

this one is short but sweet yet again

US$33 will buy you 1,000 LifeMiles costing just under AU$46, with this offer you will get 2,400. Bring this back to dollars per 1,000 LifeMiles in AU and it sits at $19.15 - putting it at the upper end in value. I consider this to be a little expensive if you are not going to use them straight away. The AUD/USD conversion is just crap right now for this sort of thing. I have written to LifeMiles and asked if my credit card can be charged in Colombian Peso and at what value per 1,000 and am waiting for a response. This may make the choice to purchase a little easier. I just don't like purchasing in USD...